


The Night Before Christmas

by Wonko



Category: Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Christmas, Elinor Campbell Lives, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonko/pseuds/Wonko
Summary: Elinor Campbell is hosting Christmas for the first time in her own house and Serena has faithfully promised to make the trek to be there after her shift on Christmas Eve, pig of a drive though it promises to be. Her car, alas, has other ideas...
Relationships: Serena Campbell/Bernie Wolfe
Comments: 27
Kudos: 119
Collections: Berena Secret Santa 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justine472](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justine472/gifts).



> Written for Justine472's prompt "Future Christmas Meeting. Bernie lives." Hope you enjoy! Conclusion to come (time ran away from me!)

It was the night before Christmas and Serena had just packed up her car with presents and a suitcase full of enough dodgy jumpers for a three day visit. The boot was now full of carefully wrapped boxes and packages nestled around a small black suitcase. She had just come off a twelve hour shift, eight of which had been spent in surgery after a three car RTC at a notorious local junction. She was bone tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed for the next several days. But no. This was Elinor’s first Christmas in her new house (deposit source: bank of mum) and Serena had promised faithfully that she would be there for Elinor’s first attempt at hosting.

“Hello darling,” she chirped into her mobile, a plastic smile pasted onto her face in an attempt to stop her weariness leaching into her tone. “I’m leaving home now, so I should be there just before midnight if I’m lucky. Don’t worry, I’ve got my key.”

“Did you remember to bring my stocking?” Elinor asked. Serena could hear the buzz of music and conversation in the background - it sounded like a party was in full swing. She hoped it would have petered out by the time she arrived - the last thing she needed was to end up conversing with her daughters’ drunk mates after the pig of a drive she was about to have.

“Yes darling, I did. Don’t worry - I’ve not forgotten anything.”

“Good. Oh, I think I saw on Facebook that there was a crash on the M11 or something? You might want to check that.”

Serena groaned internally. She’d been planning on going that way. “Never mind,” she said, maintaining the cheer with an effort of will. “I’ll take a detour.”

The drive began poorly. There was gridlock on the bypass heading out of Holby, and a distinct lack of festive cheer among the hooting and honking drivers. But after an hour or so she managed to edge onto the motorway and push her car up to a respectable 60 miles per hour, which she considered to be just about the highest safe speed given the fat flakes of snow that were beginning to fall.

Despite the weather, she felt her heart begin to lift and shoulders begin to loosen as she ate up the miles. She’d been slightly hesitant when Elinor had insisted she wanted to host Christmas at her house this year. The thought of driving from Holby to Cambridge after a long shift - and on Christmas Eve - had filled her with dread. And of course there was the wrench of giving up control of the day itself. Elinor had been muttering about turning vegan - Serena was very much afraid she was going to end up eating tofurkey and facon wrapped around soysauges for Christmas lunch. But perhaps it would be all right after all. A lovely day of family harmony and reconnection with a daughter that had been gradually slipping away from her year on year since her early teens. Maybe Elinor had grown up a little and she could start to have the kind of friendly relationship that other women her age had with their adult daughters.

Her hopeful mood lasted right down the M4 and the M25. It skirted round the edge of London with her and stayed with her as she made her way onto the B roads before the M11 turnoff. The snow was falling more and more thickly, but the gritters had been out and the roads were good enough for now. All being well, she’d make it to Elinor’s by one.

All was not well.

The first portent of doom came with a flicker as her headlights suddenly lost and regained power. She blinked in mild confusion, shaking her head to clear it. Perhaps she was more tired than she’d thought. But then the lights flickered again and suddenly the engine lost power and she was gliding along the road on inertia alone.

“Shit,” she cursed, carefully braking and pulling to the side. The car was completely dead and unresponsive to every turn of the key in the ignition and every swear word she could throw at it. She turned the key again, hoping for the tell tale lawnmower sound of a struggling engine, but there was nothing. But it didn’t make sense. The car had just been serviced. She still had a quarter tank of petrol. There had been no odd noises or smells.

“Oh god, why me?” she muttered, banging her head gently against the leather of the steering wheel.

After a few minutes of feeling sorry for herself and wishing with all the power in her soul that she was in a warm bed and unconscious right now, she pulled out her phone. Luckily there was good signal and Elinor picked up on the third ring.

“Mummy!” her only daughter slurred. With a wince, Serena realised that the sounds of a party were, if anything, louder than they had been when she’d set off hours ago.

“Darling,” she said, raising her voice a little to be heard over the general revelry. “I’ve got a bit of bad news. I’m afraid I-”

But Elinor didn’t give her time to finish. “Oh, don’t bother,” she spat, turning from jubilant to vicious on a dime. “Let me guess. There was an emergency at work.”

Serena blinked in a mixture of surprise and hurt. “What? No darling, I-”

“Save your breath,” Elinor said. “You know what? I knew you wouldn’t come. There’s always something more important isn’t there?”

Weariness, cold and the sheer unfairness of it most of all brought tears, sharp and biting, to Serena’s tired eyes. “Elinor!” she protested, but to no avail. Her daughter had already hung up.

She tossed the phone from her with a scream of indignation. Would it kill the girl to listen for once in her life? Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she had never been one to indulge in that sort of thing for long. She was too practical, too used to sorting things out whatever happened to ever let something as mundane as pain or disappointment stop her from pushing forward.

So she wiped her cheeks and reached for her phone again. She’d downloaded the AA app some time ago, when someone in a call centre had told her it was faster than calling. Plus, she had no desire to talk to anyone right at that moment, and neither did she know exactly where she was.

She had just clicked through the first few sets of options when a set of headlights - the first she’d seen in half an hour - swept round behind her. The driver of the car was obliged to brake suddenly, because Serena had stopped just after a bend and - due to the lack of power in the car - she hadn’t been able to put on her hazard lights.

With a jolt of unease, Serena realised that the strange car had stopped behind her and the driver was getting out. On the one hand, perhaps the stranger would know something about cars and would be able to help her. On the other, she was a woman alone in the dark on a deserted road. Nervously, she switched to the phone app and dialled 999, keeping her finger hovering over the call button as she watched the other driver picking their way through the snow, silhouetted by their headlights.

But when the stranger arrived at the car, Serena saw that it was a woman. She sighed in relief, removing her thumb from the call button and rolling down the window.

“Hello,” the woman said, her cheeks shining pink in the glow of the headlights, snowflakes clinging prettily to her messy blonde curls. “Engine been growling or whining?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena spends some time with her good Samaritan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd better finish last year's Secret Santa before this year's starts!

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with D.”

“Hmm. ‘Disturbingly thick snowfall’?”

“Nope.”

“Ah. ‘Distinct absence of an AA van’ then.”

“Guess again.”

“Gosh. A tricky one, this. How about ‘dwindling prospect of seeing Christmas morning with my daughter?”

“Astonishingly, that’s not it. Shall I put you out of your misery?”

“I didn’t know you had a gun on you.”

“Ha ha. The answer is...darkness.”

Serena raised an eyebrow at her very new acquaintance and held the expression until the other woman cracked.

“Fine. You think of something, then.”

Serena glanced around the car, looking for some object she could use. Somehow, her eye kept being drawn back to her companion. L for legs - long, clad in skinny jeans...distracting. H for hair - blonde, wavy, soft-looking. F for fingers - delicate, dexterous, strong. B for Bernie Wolfe - fellow medic, good Samaritan, though not actually a mechanic, and - despite their very brief acquaintanceship - utterly compelling.

After Bernie had pulled up behind her and proved herself not to be an axe murderer, she’d had a look under the bonnet. Declaring that the alternator was not, in fact, ‘cactus’ as she’d first feared, her first thought had been to try a jump start. When that didn’t work she’d tried a couple of other tricks she’d picked up “in a misspent youth” - this last said with a wink that made Serena’s bisexual heart flutter like a hyperactive hummingbird - before declaring the matter beyond her skill.

Most people would have up and left at that point, but not Bernie Wolfe. Instead, she’d moved her car to nestle neatly behind Serena’s, put her hazard lights on, and slipped into Serena’s passenger seat to keep her company while she waited for the AA to arrive.

From a man this would have been presumptuous - even threatening. From Bernie it was charming and, luckily, the two women had quickly found they had plenty in common and got on like a house on fire.

“I’m too tired for games. Anyway, there isn’t much to see.” Serena stretched, before turning slightly so she was facing Bernie. “How about we just talk instead?”

Bernie angled her body in return so that she was leaning towards Serena. “All right. What shall we talk about?”

Serena shrugged. “Anything that’ll keep me awake.”

“Hmm.” Bernie smiled a little. “I know just the thing.”

She told her about her last tour in Afghanistan, about the surgeries she’d performed, the miracles she’d pulled off, the final fateful Hummer ride, and the IED that had left her upside down in a poppy field, somewhere between life and death.

In return, Serena told her about her mother, the stroke that had led to the vascular dementia that had stolen Adrienne away long before her body failed, and about her daughter, the way their relationship had strained year on year. Somehow it didn’t feel like talking to a stranger, the darkness surrounding them and the soft snowflakes falling creating a sense of intimacy and calm, like they were in a bubble just for them.

“Children can be…” Bernie began, then trailed off. “I was about to give you some platitudes, but I don’t really have much room to talk. This is the first year since my divorce that my kids have deigned to speak to me.”

“It’s not easy,” Serena hummed sympathetically. “Elinor threw some epic tantrums when I finally split with my ex.”

Bernie’s lips curled upwards in a weak smile. “Well. They’re spending Christmas with Marcus, but at least I was able to see them today. That’s where I was before coming across you.” She checked her watch. “I suppose it was yesterday now. What’s the progress with the AA?”

Serena checked the app again. “They aim to be here by 2am,” she said. “Look, it was lovely of you to stay with me, but you shouldn’t have to hang around here all night…”

Bernie shook her head. “Don’t be silly,” she said firmly. “I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”

Warmth flooded through Serena’s chest at the determination on Bernie’s face. It somehow made her more beautiful, and a shiver danced down her spine as the image of herself leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the other woman’s slightly open mouth flashed before her eyes.

“You’re cold,” Bernie said, mistaking the source of Serena’s shudder. “Wait there.”

She opened the passenger door, letting a blast of frigid air into the car. Before Serena could object, Bernie was halfway to her own car. She returned moments later holding a bundle in her arms, and dove back into the Saab’s passenger seat. “Here we are,” she said, unfolding a soft tartan blanket and draping it over them both. “Always be prepared when driving in inclement weather,” she added, upon seeing Serena’s questioning look.

“Okay Brown Owl,” Serena replied, drawing a short laugh from Bernie. She settled herself under the blanket, shivering at first against the cold that Bernie had let in when she briefly left the car, but soon brightening up as the air under the blanket was warmed by their combined body heat. “This is very good of you, you know,” she said after several minutes of comfortable silence. “Do you come to the rescue on the road often, Major Wolfe?”

Bernie shook her head ruefully. “My rescues are usually more damage control than this,” she said, and launched into a story about an RTA victim she’d operated on the previous day, including a blow by blow account of an atriocaval shunt she’d performed.

“Okay, now you’re just showing off,” Serena interrupted. “Admit it.”

Bernie blushed. “Not at all,” she insisted. “I’m actually just that good.”

“Hmmm.” Serena’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t suppose you fancy locuming in Holby after your stint at Addenbrooke’s is over? I can think of at least three department heads who’d arm wrestle for you.” Including herself, she thought, but she kept that part quiet.

Bernie laughed. “If you want to keep in touch, you just have to ask. No need to make it a job offer.”

“Oh, do you want to?” Serena said, her breath catching a little in her throat. “Keep in touch, I mean.”

Bernie smiled slowly, her eyes twinkling in the semi-darkness. “I do, but...like I said...not for a job.”

Slowly, her heart in her mouth, Serena inched her hand forward under the blanket. Bernie’s hand met hers halfway and their fingers linked together like they’d been doing it all their lives. A breath left Serena’s lungs in a rush, fogging in the chill air. She smiled, happiness bubbling up inside her like a boiling pot. “Is this mad?” she murmured. “We just met.”

“Yeah,” Bernie replied. She leaned forward. “A bit mad.”

The first kiss was awkward, the gear stick and the handbrake getting in the way as they tried to manoeuvre into a comfortable position. The second kiss was better, both of them finding a position and rhythm that worked. By the third kiss they were well on their way to perfecting it.

When the AA man eventually arrived, he found two flushed women and slightly steamed up windows. They stood in the snow, the blanket wrapped round both their shoulders, watching as he inspected the engine and sucked cold air in through his teeth.

“I’ll need to tow it to a garage, love,” he said at last. “And they’ll be shut until the 27th.”

He offered to take her on to her destination after leaving the car at the garage, but Bernie quickly said she’d be happy to drive her to Elinor’s house. Within a few more minutes they were on the road again, after quickly transferring Serena’s luggage into Bernie’s miniscule boot, though she did have to hold one of her bags on her lap.

“How do you make do with a car like this?” she huffed as they set off. Bernie just smiled.

“A present to myself after I left the army,” she said. “It’s a chick magnet, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh is it now?” Serena said, her eyebrow raising.

“Well…” Bernie said, glancing at Serena and grinning before returning her attention to the road. “Maybe not. But you’re in it, aren’t you?”

It took about an hour to reach Elinor’s house. When Bernie pulled up at last, it seemed like the party Serena had been so dreading arriving in the middle of was over. The house was in darkness, and Serena was suddenly glad she had a key of her own somewhere in her bag, as she knew from experience that Elinor was pretty tricky to wake once she’d had a few drinks.

“Well,” Bernie said. “It’s been...an interesting night.”

“That it has,” Serena agreed. “I’ll...I’ll give you a ring later, if that’s all right?”

Bernie twisted her body slightly to face her, reaching up to cup Serena’s cheek. “That’s more than all right,” she said.

It was an unusual way to have met. But, they both agreed in years to come, it did make it easy to remember their anniversary.


End file.
